Brownsville–Harlingen–San Benito, TX

National Compensation Survey

July 2002

_________________________________________________________________________________________

U.S. Department of Labor

Elaine L. Chao, Secretary

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner

December 2002

Bulletin 3115–18
iii

Preface

ata shown in this bulletin were collected as part of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Compensation Survey (NCS). The survey could not have been conducted without the cooperation of the many private firms

and government jurisdictions that provided pay data included in this bulletin. The Bureau thanks these respondents for their cooperation.

Field economists of the Bureau of Labor Statistics collected and reviewed the survey data. The Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, in cooperation with the

Office of Field Operations and the Office of Technology

and Survey Processing in the BLS National Office, designed the survey, processed the data, and prepared the

survey for publication.

For additional information regarding this survey, please

contact any BLS regional office at the address and telephone number listed on the back cover of this bulletin.

You may also write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at:

Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning,

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Room 4175, Washington,

DC 20212–0001, or call (202) 691–6199, or send e-mail to

ocltinfo@bls.gov.

The data contained in this bulletin are also available at

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm, the BLS Internet site. Data are in three formats: An ASCII file containing the published table formats; an ASCII file containing

positional columns of data for manipulation as a data base

or spreadsheet; and a Portable Document Format (PDF) file

containing the entire bulletin.

Results of earlier surveys of this area are also available

from BLS regional offices, the Division of Compensation

Data Analysis and Planning, or at the BLS Internet site.

Material in this bulletin is in the public domain and,

with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission. This information will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202)

691–5200; Federal Relay Service: 1–800–877–8339.

D
v

Contents

Page

Introduction................................................................................................................................................ 1

Tables:

1–1. Summary: Mean hourly earnings and weekly hours by selected worker and establishment

characteristics, private industry, and State and local government ................................................ 2

2–1. Mean hourly earnings: Selected occupations, all workers, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 3

2–2. Mean hourly earnings: Selected occupations, full-time workers, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 5

2–3. Mean hourly earnings: Selected occupations, part-time workers, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 7

3–1. Mean weekly earnings and hours: Selected occupations, full-time workers, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 8

3–2. Mean annual earnings and hours: Selected occupations, full-time workers, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 10

4–1. Selected occupations and levels, all workers: Mean hourly earnings, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 12

4–2. Selected occupations and levels, full-time workers: Mean hourly earnings, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 15

4–3. Selected occupations and levels, part-time workers: Mean hourly earnings, private industry,

and State and local government.................................................................................................... 18

5–1. Selected worker characteristics: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group............................ 19

5–2. Major industry division: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group, private industry............. 20

5–3. Establishment employment size: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group,

private industry............................................................................................................................. 21

6–1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers:

Selected occupations, all industries .............................................................................................. 22

6–2. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers:

Selected occupations, private industry.......................................................................................... 24

6–3. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers:

Selected occupations, State and local government ....................................................................... 25

6–4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, full-time workers:

Selected occupations, all industries .............................................................................................. 26

6–5. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, part-time workers:

Selected occupations, all industries .............................................................................................. 28

Appendixes:

A. Technical Note................................................................................................................................. A – 1

Appendix table 1. Number of workers represented by the survey, by occupational group............ A – 5

B. Occupational Classifications............................................................................................................ B – 1

C. Occupational Leveling Criteria ........................................................................................................ C – 1

D. Evaluating Your Firm’s Jobs ........................................................................................................... D – 1
1

Introduction

he tables in this bulletin summarize the NCS results for

the Brownsville–Harlingen–San Benito, TX, metropolitan area. Data were collected between June 2002 and

October 2002; the average reference month is July 2002.

Tabulations provide information on earnings of workers in

a variety of occupations and at different work levels. Also

contained in this bulletin are information on the program, a

technical note describing survey procedures, and several

appendixes with detailed information on occupational classifications and the occupational leveling methodology.

NCS products

The Bureau’s National Compensation Survey provides data

on occupational wages and employee benefits for localities,

broad geographic regions, and the Nation as a whole. The

Employment Cost Index, a quarterly measure of the change

in employer costs for wages and benefits, is derived from

the NCS. Another product, Employer Costs for Employee

Compensation, measures employers’ average hourly costs

for total compensation, that is, wages and benefits. Still

another NCS product measures the incidence of benefit

plans and their provisions. This bulletin is limited to data

on occupational wages and salaries.

About the tables

The tables that follow present data on straight-time occupational earnings, which include wages and salaries, incentive

pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. These

earnings exclude premium pay for overtime, vacations,

holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. About 480 detailed occupations are used to describe all occupations in

the civilian nonfarm economy (excluding the Federal Government and private households). Data are not shown for

any occupations if they would raise concerns about the confidentiality of the survey respondents or if the data are insufficient to support reliable estimates.

Table 1–1 presents an overview of all tables in this bulletin. Mean hourly earnings, weekly hours, and relative

standard errors are given for all industries, private industry,

and State and local government for selected worker and establishment characteristics. The worker characteristics include major occupational group, full-time or part-time

status, union or nonunion status, and time or incentive pay.

Establishment characteristics include goods and service

producing and size of establishment.

Table 2–1 presents estimates of mean hourly earnings,

and the relative standard errors associated with them, for

detailed occupations within all industries, private industry,

and State and local government. Table 2–2 presents the

same type of information for full-time workers only. Table

2–3 provides similar data for workers designated as parttime.

Table 3–1 provides mean weekly earnings data, with

relative standard errors, and weekly hours for full-time employees in specific occupations across all industries, private

industry, and State and local government. Table 3–2 provides annual earnings, relative standard errors, and annual

hours for full-time employees in specific occupations.

Table 4–1 provides mean hourly earnings data by work

level for occupational groups and for detailed occupations.

Separate data are also shown for private industry and government workers. Table 4–2 provides work level data for

full-time workers. Table 4–3 provides similar data for

workers designated as part-time.

Table 5–1 presents mean hourly earnings data for selected worker characteristics by major occupational groups.

The worker characteristics include full-time or part-time

designation, union or nonunion status, and time or incentive

pay. Table 5–2 presents mean hourly earnings data for major industry divisions by occupational groups; these estimates are limited to the private sector. Table 5–3 presents

mean hourly earnings data for establishment employment

sizes by major occupational groups within the private sector.

Tables 6–1 through 6–5 present hourly wage percentiles

that describe the distribution of hourly earnings for each

published occupation. Data are provided for the 10th,

25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles for detailed occupations within all industries, private industry, State and local

government, full-time workers, and part-time workers.

These iterations correspond to those presented in tables 2–

1, 2–2, and 2–3. For each published occupation, these percentiles relate to the average hourly earnings of jobs surveyed in establishments. The percentiles do not relate to

the hourly earnings of individual workers in these establishment jobs.

Appendix table 1 provides the number of workers represented by the survey by major occupational group. The

employment estimates relate to all employers in the area,

rather than just to those surveyed.

T
Table 1-1. Summary: Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours by selected characteristics, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Worker and establishment characteristics

Total Private industry State and local government

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours3

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours3

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours Mean 3

Relative

error2

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error2

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error2

(percent)

Total ........................................................................... $13.01 3.8 35.7 $10.43 4.9 33.9 $16.96 5.2 39.0

Worker characteristics:4

White-collar occupations5 ....................................... 17.50 4.8 37.6 14.39 6.9 36.7 20.39 5.3 38.5

Professional specialty and technical ................... 22.97 3.0 38.0 19.20 6.1 38.5 24.87 2.5 37.7

Executive, administrative, and managerial ......... 25.22 8.1 41.0 22.68 7.6 42.7 26.79 10.6 40.0

Sales ................................................................... 10.47 11.3 34.3 10.47 11.3 34.3 – – –

Administrative support ........................................ 10.60 10.4 37.9 11.33 20.7 36.2 10.00 3.8 39.5

Blue-collar occupations5 ......................................... 9.72 5.0 37.5 9.37 5.5 37.4 11.33 8.0 37.9

Precision production, craft, and repair ................ 14.40 8.5 39.8 14.13 12.8 39.7 14.97 4.9 40.0

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ......................................................... 8.33 4.7 37.0 8.33 4.7 37.0 – – –

Transportation and material moving ................... 11.15 9.1 41.5 12.00 10.8 45.5 9.26 4.5 34.6

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers ...................................................... 6.95 4.9 34.7 6.72 5.3 34.1 8.53 3.9 40.0

Service occupations5 .............................................. 7.53 4.9 31.2 5.88 5.5 27.4 10.31 5.6 40.7

Full time .................................................................. 14.31 4.0 39.6 11.91 5.6 39.8 17.07 5.2 39.5

Part time ................................................................. 6.26 6.4 23.6 6.17 6.7 23.7 – – –

Union ...................................................................... 21.97 9.6 37.1 – – – – – –

Nonunion ................................................................ 12.72 3.8 35.7 10.01 4.2 33.7 16.80 5.4 39.2

Time ........................................................................ 13.01 4.1 35.4 10.20 5.9 33.2 16.96 5.2 39.0

Incentive ................................................................. 13.05 9.1 44.2 13.05 9.1 44.2 – – –

Establishment characteristics:

Goods producing .................................................... 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 11.31 7.0 38.4 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( )

Service producing ................................................... 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 10.15 6.1 32.7 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( )

50-99 workers7 ....................................................... 10.20 11.8 36.6 9.83 13.7 36.2 13.73 5.4 40.3

100-499 workers ..................................................... 11.77 5.1 32.7 10.17 6.0 31.5 17.79 6.4 38.1

500 workers or more ............................................... 15.19 5.4 37.6 11.62 8.1 35.2 17.00 6.4 39.0

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium

pay for overtime, vacations, and holidays; nonproduction bonuses; and tips. The mean is

computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers,

weighted by hours. 2 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of

the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample

estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A. 3 Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week,

exclusive of overtime. 4 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based

on the definition used by each establishment. Union workers are those whose wages are

determined through collective bargaining. Wages of time workers are based solely on

hourly rate or salary; incentive workers are those whose wages are at least partially

based on productivity payments such as piece rates, commissions, and production

bonuses. 5 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover

all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 6 Classification of establishments into goods-producing and service-producing

industries applies to private industry only. 7 Establishments classified with 50-99 workers may contain establishments with

fewer than 50 due to staff reductions between survey sampling and collection. 

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication

criteria. 

2
Table 2-1. Mean hourly earnings,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local government,

National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $13.01 3.8 $10.43 4.9 $16.96 5.2

All excluding sales ............................................................ 13.23 4.1 10.43 5.7 16.96 5.2

White collar ......................................................................... 17.50 4.8 14.39 6.9 20.39 5.3

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 18.85 4.4 16.36 7.4 20.39 5.3

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 22.97 3.0 19.20 6.1 24.87 2.5

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.02 2.2 25.15 4.8 25.00 2.5

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... ––––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... ––––––

Health related ........................................................... 26.30 4.6 26.45 5.6 – –

Registered nurses ................................................ 25.17 3.6 – – – –

Teachers, college and university .............................. ––––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 26.16 1.9 – – 26.17 1.9

Elementary school teachers ................................. 26.97 1.6 – – 26.97 1.6

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.73 .9 – – 26.77 .9

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Social workers ...................................................... 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ ––––––

Technical ...................................................................... 15.32 3.6 15.26 3.7 – –

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 15.31 3.8 15.07 3.6 – –

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 25.22 8.1 22.68 7.6 26.79 10.6

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 27.29 7.9 22.88 7.6 31.43 7.8

Administrators and officials, public administration 26.59 27.5 – – 26.59 27.5

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 26.14 8.9 – – – –

Management related ................................................. 18.19 8.9 – – 18.33 9.2

Sales ................................................................................ 10.47 11.3 10.47 11.3 – –

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 8.91 10.8 8.91 10.8 – –

Cashiers ............................................................... 8.26 8.0 8.26 8.0 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 10.60 10.4 11.33 20.7 10.00 3.8

Secretaries ........................................................... 11.39 8.1 – – 11.47 8.3

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 8.28 2.4 – – – –

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 8.80 4.0 – – – –

General office clerks ............................................. 9.64 4.4 – – 9.72 5.0

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.91 1.7 – – 8.91 1.7

Blue collar ........................................................................... 9.72 5.0 9.37 5.5 11.33 8.0

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 14.40 8.5 14.13 12.8 14.97 4.9

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 9.63 9.3 – – 9.63 9.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 8.33 4.7 8.33 4.7 – –

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 8.86 6.4 8.86 6.4 – –

Transportation and material moving ............................ 11.15 9.1 12.00 10.8 9.26 4.5

Truck drivers ......................................................... 11.97 13.7 12.07 13.9 – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 6.95 4.9 6.72 5.3 8.53 3.9

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.68 1.9 – – – –

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.77 4.2 5.77 4.2 – –

Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. ......... 9.36 5.9 9.36 5.9 – –

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 7.36 15.4 – – 8.32 4.3

Service ................................................................................. 7.53 4.9 5.88 5.5 10.31 5.6

Protective service ..................................................... 10.87 16.6 – – 13.11 8.1

Police and detectives, public service .................... 15.58 8.9 – – 15.58 8.9

Food service ............................................................. 6.49 12.7 4.86 16.0 9.13 7.4

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... 3.12 16.8 3.12 16.8 – –

Other food service .................................................. 8.24 6.5 7.01 6.1 9.13 7.4

Cooks ................................................................... 7.72 4.1 7.45 4.7 – –

Food counter, fountain, and related ...................... 7.34 10.1 7.34 10.1 – –

Health service ........................................................... 10.17 9.1 7.73 4.3 – –

See footnotes at end of table.

3
Table 2-1. Mean hourly earnings,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local government,

National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Service –Continued

Health service –Continued

Health aides, except nursing ................................ $10.91 15.2 – – – –

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 9.55 12.8 $7.04 3.0 – –

Cleaning and building service ................................... 7.20 3.5 6.22 3.6 $7.82 2.9

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 7.55 2.7 6.67 3.4 7.82 2.9

Personal service ....................................................... 6.11 1.5 5.99 1.1 – –

Welfare service aides ........................................... 6.07 1.6 5.96 1.2 – –

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded

are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and

tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the

number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used

to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.

4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around

a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet

publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

4
Table 2-2. Mean hourly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $14.31 4.0 $11.91 5.6 $17.07 5.2

All excluding sales ............................................................ 14.48 4.2 11.92 6.3 17.07 5.2

White collar ......................................................................... 18.31 4.4 15.49 6.8 20.59 5.3

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 19.19 4.3 16.82 7.0 20.59 5.3

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 23.26 2.9 19.10 6.2 25.37 2.1

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.46 1.9 25.18 4.9 25.51 2.1

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... ––––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... ––––––

Health related ........................................................... 26.39 4.7 26.57 5.8 – –

Registered nurses ................................................ 25.32 3.8 25.18 4.3 – –

Teachers, college and university .............................. ––––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 26.86 1.1 – – 26.88 1.1

Elementary school teachers ................................. 26.97 1.6 – – 26.97 1.6

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.73 .9 – – 26.77 .9

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Social workers ...................................................... 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ ––––––

Technical ...................................................................... 15.32 3.6 15.26 3.7 – –

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 15.31 3.8 15.07 3.6 – –

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 25.22 8.1 22.68 7.6 26.79 10.6

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 27.29 7.9 22.88 7.6 31.43 7.8

Administrators and officials, public administration 26.59 27.5 – – 26.59 27.5

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 26.14 8.9 – – – –

Management related ................................................. 18.19 8.9 – – 18.33 9.2

Sales ................................................................................ 11.87 13.4 11.87 13.4 – –

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 9.09 12.1 9.09 12.1 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 10.78 10.7 11.89 21.8 10.00 3.8

Secretaries ........................................................... 11.39 8.1 – – 11.47 8.3

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 8.28 2.4 – – – –

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 8.84 3.9 – – – –

General office clerks ............................................. 9.66 4.4 – – 9.72 5.0

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.91 1.7 – – 8.91 1.7

Blue collar ........................................................................... 10.11 5.1 9.80 5.7 11.39 8.2

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 14.40 8.5 14.13 12.8 14.97 4.9

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 9.63 9.3 – – 9.63 9.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 8.56 4.7 8.56 4.7 – –

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 8.86 6.4 8.86 6.4 – –

Transportation and material moving ............................ 11.22 9.5 12.07 11.1 – –

Truck drivers ......................................................... 11.95 14.0 – – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 7.04 5.0 6.73 5.3 8.53 3.9

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.68 1.9 – – – –

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 6.01 6.2 6.01 6.2 – –

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 7.02 14.4 – – 8.32 4.3

Service ................................................................................. 8.83 4.8 6.74 5.6 10.31 5.6

Protective service ..................................................... 11.33 14.2 – – 13.11 8.1

Police and detectives, public service .................... 15.58 8.9 – – 15.58 8.9

Food service ............................................................. 7.94 7.9 6.50 10.7 9.13 7.4

Other food service .................................................. 8.57 6.2 7.51 6.7 9.13 7.4

Cooks ................................................................... 7.72 4.1 7.45 4.7 – –

Health service ........................................................... 10.28 9.8 7.75 4.8 – –

Health aides, except nursing ................................ 11.12 16.3 – – – –

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 9.59 13.0 – – – –

Cleaning and building service ................................... 7.49 2.9 6.55 3.4 7.82 2.9

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 7.62 2.7 6.82 1.9 7.82 2.9

See footnotes at end of table.

5
Table 2-2. Mean hourly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Service –Continued

Personal service ....................................................... $6.94 4.3 – – – –

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded

are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and

tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the

number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a

worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time

employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where

a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used

to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around

a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet

publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

6
Table 2-3. Mean hourly earnings,1 part-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $6.26 6.4 $6.17 6.7 – –

All excluding sales ............................................................ 6.04 7.0 5.92 7.3 – –

White collar ......................................................................... 8.16 7.2 8.13 8.0 – –

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 9.44 15.8 – – – –

Professional specialty and technical ............................ ––––––

Professional specialty ................................................... ––––––

Health related ........................................................... ––––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. ––––––

Sales ................................................................................ 7.43 7.1 7.43 7.1 – –

Cashiers ............................................................... 6.59 7.0 6.59 7.0 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... ––––––

Blue collar ........................................................................... 6.79 6.6 6.64 6.9 – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ ––––––

Transportation and material moving ............................ ––––––

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 6.68 7.6 6.68 7.6 – –

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.48 1.8 5.48 1.8 – –

Service ................................................................................. 5.26 8.1 5.26 8.1 – –

Protective service ..................................................... ––––––

Food service ............................................................. 3.19 21.2 3.19 21.2 – –

Health service ........................................................... ––––––

Cleaning and building service ................................... ––––––

Personal service ....................................................... 5.96 1.2 5.96 1.2 – –

Welfare service aides ........................................... 5.96 1.2 5.96 1.2 – –

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded

are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and

tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the

number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a

worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time

employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where

a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used

to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around

a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet

publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

7
Table 3-1. Mean weekly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours5

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours5

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours Mean 5

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

All ............................................................... $567 3.9 39.6 $474 5.5 39.8 $674 5.1 39.5

All excluding sales .............................. 575 4.1 39.7 477 6.1 40.0 674 5.1 39.5

White collar ........................................... 719 4.5 39.3 614 7.2 39.6 802 5.2 39.0

White collar excluding sales ........... 756 4.3 39.4 675 7.1 40.2 802 5.2 39.0

Professional specialty and

technical ...................................... 904 2.8 38.9 761 6.2 39.8 974 2.1 38.4

Professional specialty ..................... 983 1.9 38.6 1,003 4.9 39.8 979 2.1 38.4

Engineers, architects, and

surveyors .............................. – – – – – – – – –

Mathematical and computer

scientists ............................... – – – – – – – – –

Health related ............................. 1,055 4.7 40.0 1,063 5.8 40.0 – – –

Registered nurses .................. 1,013 3.8 40.0 1,007 4.3 40.0 – – –

Teachers, college and university – – – – – – – – –

Teachers, except college and

university .............................. 1,018 1.4 37.9 – – – 1,020 1.4 37.9

Elementary school teachers ... 1,020 1.8 37.8 – – – 1,020 1.8 37.8

Secondary school teachers .... 1,011 1.1 37.8 – – – 1,015 1.2 37.9

Social, recreation, and religious

workers ................................. 581 5.1 40.0 – – – 576 5.5 40.0

Social workers ........................ 581 5.1 40.0 – – – 576 5.5 40.0

Writers, authors, entertainers,

athletes, and professionals,

n.e.c. ..................................... – – – – – – – – –

Technical ........................................ 609 3.6 39.8 607 3.7 39.8 – – –

Licensed practical nurses ....... 606 3.5 39.6 597 3.2 39.6 – – –

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ................................... 1,033 7.7 41.0 967 7.3 42.7 1,072 10.6 40.0

Executives, administrators, and

managers .............................. 1,127 7.0 41.3 978 7.2 42.7 1,257 7.8 40.0

Administrators and officials,

public administration ......... 1,064 27.5 40.0 – – – 1,064 27.5 40.0

Managers and administrators,

n.e.c. ................................. 1,156 5.2 44.2 – – – – – –

Management related ................... 728 8.9 40.0 – – – 733 9.2 40.0

Sales .................................................. 454 15.2 38.3 454 15.2 38.3 – – –

Sales workers, other

commodities ..................... 320 8.6 35.2 320 8.6 35.2 – – –

Administrative support, including

clerical ......................................... 427 10.8 39.6 473 21.9 39.7 395 4.0 39.5

Secretaries ............................. 456 8.1 40.0 – – – 459 8.3 40.0

Records clerks, n.e.c. ............. 331 2.5 40.0 – – – – – –

Bookkeepers, accounting and

auditing clerks ................... 349 4.4 39.5 – – – – – –

General office clerks ............... 382 4.8 39.5 – – – 389 5.0 40.0

Teachers’ aides ...................... 344 1.9 38.6 – – – 344 1.9 38.6

Blue collar ............................................. 407 5.6 40.2 395 6.5 40.3 456 8.2 40.0

Precision production, craft, and

repair ............................................ 573 8.6 39.8 561 12.9 39.7 599 4.9 40.0

Water and sewer treatment

plant operators .................. 385 9.3 40.0 – – – 385 9.3 40.0

Machine operators, assemblers,

and inspectors ............................ 343 4.7 40.0 343 4.7 40.0 – – –

Miscellaneous machine

operators, n.e.c. ................ 354 6.4 40.0 354 6.4 40.0 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

8
Table 3-1. Mean weekly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours5

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours5

Weekly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours Mean 5

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Blue collar –Continued

Transportation and material

moving ......................................... $501 16.2 44.7 $567 19.5 47.0 – – –

Truck drivers ........................... 573 24.5 47.9 – – – – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers ................. 268 4.8 38.1 254 5.0 37.7 $341 3.9 40.0

Helpers, construction trades ... 307 1.9 40.0 – – – – – –

Stock handlers and baggers ... 240 6.2 40.0 240 6.2 40.0 – – –

Laborers, except construction,

n.e.c. ................................. 281 14.4 40.0 – – – 333 4.2 40.0

Service ................................................... 353 5.0 40.0 263 5.4 39.0 419 6.0 40.7

Protective service ....................... 489 15.5 43.2 – – – 579 7.1 44.2

Police and detectives, public

service .............................. 633 7.9 40.6 – – – 633 7.9 40.6

Food service ............................... 307 8.0 38.6 248 9.1 38.1 356 7.8 39.0

Other food service .................... 329 6.5 38.3 279 3.7 37.2 356 7.8 39.0

Cooks ..................................... 294 2.5 38.0 293 4.0 39.3 – – –

Health service ............................. 404 10.1 39.3 302 6.1 39.0 – – –

Health aides, except nursing .. 434 16.4 39.0 – – – – – –

Nursing aides, orderlies and

attendants ......................... 378 13.2 39.5 – – – – – –

Cleaning and building service ..... 300 2.9 40.0 262 3.4 40.0 313 2.9 40.0

Janitors and cleaners ............. 305 2.7 40.0 273 1.9 40.0 313 2.9 40.0

Personal service ......................... 277 4.3 40.0 – – – – – –

1 Earnings are the straight-time weekly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded

are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and

tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the

number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule

based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a

35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one

establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is

the minimum full-time schedule. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a

sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A. 5 Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a

week, exclusive of overtime.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet

publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

9
Table 3-2. Mean annual earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours5

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours5

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours Mean 5

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

All ............................................................... $27,008 3.9 1,887 $24,528 5.5 2,059 $29,401 5.1 1,722

All excluding sales .............................. 27,230 4.1 1,881 24,656 6.1 2,069 29,401 5.1 1,722

White collar ........................................... 32,854 4.5 1,794 31,837 7.2 2,056 33,501 5.2 1,627

White collar excluding sales ........... 33,969 4.3 1,770 34,987 7.1 2,081 33,501 5.2 1,627

Professional specialty and

technical ...................................... 39,034 2.8 1,678 39,385 6.2 2,062 38,901 2.1 1,533

Professional specialty ..................... 40,618 1.9 1,596 51,615 4.9 2,050 38,975 2.1 1,528

Engineers, architects, and

surveyors .............................. – – – – – – – – –

Mathematical and computer

scientists ............................... – – – – – – – – –

Health related ............................. 54,884 4.7 2,080 55,264 5.8 2,080 – – –

Registered nurses .................. 52,658 3.8 2,080 52,366 4.3 2,080 – – –

Teachers, college and university – – – – – – – – –

Teachers, except college and

university .............................. 38,150 1.4 1,420 – – – 38,192 1.4 1,421

Elementary school teachers ... 38,076 1.8 1,412 – – – 38,076 1.8 1,412

Secondary school teachers .... 37,979 1.1 1,421 – – – 38,068 1.2 1,422

Social, recreation, and religious

workers ................................. 30,226 5.1 2,080 – – – 29,950 5.5 2,080

Social workers ........................ 30,226 5.1 2,080 – – – 29,950 5.5 2,080

Writers, authors, entertainers,

athletes, and professionals,

n.e.c. ..................................... – – – – – – – – –

Technical ........................................ 31,644 3.6 2,065 31,580 3.7 2,069 – – –

Licensed practical nurses ....... 31,535 3.5 2,060 31,029 3.2 2,059 – – –

Executive, administrative, and

managerial ................................... 50,559 7.7 2,005 50,310 7.3 2,218 50,691 10.6 1,892

Executives, administrators, and

managers .............................. 54,310 7.0 1,990 50,853 7.2 2,222 56,955 7.8 1,812

Administrators and officials,

public administration ......... 55,306 27.5 2,080 – – – 55,306 27.5 2,080

Managers and administrators,

n.e.c. ................................. 60,087 5.2 2,298 – – – – – –

Management related ................... 37,458 8.9 2,059 – – – 37,714 9.2 2,058

Sales .................................................. 23,633 15.2 1,991 23,633 15.2 1,991 – – –

Sales workers, other

commodities ..................... 16,642 8.6 1,831 16,642 8.6 1,831 – – –

Administrative support, including

clerical ......................................... 19,762 10.8 1,833 24,458 21.9 2,057 17,019 4.0 1,702

Secretaries ............................. 21,122 8.1 1,854 – – – 21,192 8.3 1,847

Records clerks, n.e.c. ............. 16,893 2.5 2,040 – – – – – –

Bookkeepers, accounting and

auditing clerks ................... 16,643 4.4 1,883 – – – – – –

General office clerks ............... 19,860 4.8 2,057 – – – 20,223 5.0 2,080

Teachers’ aides ...................... 12,820 1.9 1,439 – – – 12,820 1.9 1,439

Blue collar ............................................. 20,935 5.6 2,070 20,522 6.5 2,094 22,536 8.2 1,979

Precision production, craft, and

repair ............................................ 29,797 8.6 2,069 29,160 12.9 2,063 31,132 4.9 2,080

Water and sewer treatment

plant operators .................. 20,040 9.3 2,080 – – – 20,040 9.3 2,080

Machine operators, assemblers,

and inspectors ............................ 17,813 4.7 2,080 17,813 4.7 2,080 – – –

Miscellaneous machine

operators, n.e.c. ................ 18,425 6.4 2,080 18,425 6.4 2,080 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

10
Table 3-2. Mean annual earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local

government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours5

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours5

Annual earnings

Mean

annual

hours Mean 5

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Blue collar –Continued

Transportation and material

moving ......................................... $24,777 16.2 2,208 $29,486 19.5 2,443 – – –

Truck drivers ........................... 29,602 24.5 2,478 – – – – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers ................. 13,921 4.8 1,979 13,191 5.0 1,959 $17,733 3.9 2,080

Helpers, construction trades ... 15,964 1.9 2,080 – – – – – –

Stock handlers and baggers ... 12,502 6.2 2,080 12,502 6.2 2,080 – – –

Laborers, except construction,

n.e.c. ................................. 14,610 14.4 2,080 – – – 17,303 4.2 2,080

Service ................................................... 17,084 5.0 1,934 13,331 5.4 1,979 19,632 6.0 1,904

Protective service ....................... 25,433 15.5 2,244 – – – 30,105 7.1 2,296

Police and detectives, public

service .............................. 32,939 7.9 2,114 – – – 32,939 7.9 2,114

Food service ............................... 13,433 8.0 1,691 12,605 9.1 1,940 13,969 7.8 1,530

Other food service .................... 13,986 6.5 1,631 14,026 3.7 1,867 13,969 7.8 1,530

Cooks ..................................... 12,731 2.5 1,650 14,012 4.0 1,881 – – –

Health service ............................. 21,006 10.1 2,043 15,722 6.1 2,029 – – –

Health aides, except nursing .. 22,579 16.4 2,030 – – – – – –

Nursing aides, orderlies and

attendants ......................... 19,672 13.2 2,052 – – – – – –

Cleaning and building service ..... 15,304 2.9 2,043 13,242 3.4 2,022 16,041 2.9 2,050

Janitors and cleaners ............. 15,551 2.7 2,040 13,632 1.9 1,998 16,041 2.9 2,050

Personal service ......................... 13,315 4.3 1,919 – – – – – –

1 Earnings are the straight-time annual wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded

are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and

tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the

number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule

based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a

35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one

establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is

the minimum full-time schedule. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a

sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A. 5 Mean annual hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a year,

exclusive of overtime.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet

publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

11
Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and

local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $13.01 3.8 $10.43 4.9 $16.96 5.2

All excluding sales ............................................................ 13.23 4.1 10.43 5.7 16.96 5.2

White collar ......................................................................... 17.50 4.8 14.39 6.9 20.39 5.3

 1 ...................................................................... 8.09 8.6 7.96 10.2 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 9.06 4.8 7.93 5.5 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.12 3.8 8.64 5.4 10.18 6.3

 4 ...................................................................... 10.44 4.6 10.74 6.4 9.85 4.0

 5 ...................................................................... 12.93 6.4 14.56 4.9 9.63 4.7

 6 ...................................................................... 18.66 9.3 14.32 5.5 21.93 9.2

 7 ...................................................................... 22.68 5.5 20.78 9.5 24.74 6.6

 8 ...................................................................... 22.49 8.1 – – 22.87 9.2

 9 ...................................................................... 25.75 1.3 25.46 5.7 25.82 1.0

11 ...................................................................... 30.75 6.3 ––––

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 18.85 4.4 16.36 7.4 20.39 5.3

 2 ...................................................................... 9.11 4.9 – – 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.01 4.1 8.12 2.3 10.18 6.3

 4 ...................................................................... 10.87 5.8 11.89 8.0 9.85 4.0

 5 ...................................................................... 12.95 6.6 14.71 5.1 9.63 4.7

 6 ...................................................................... 19.64 9.6 14.99 8.1 21.93 9.2

 7 ...................................................................... 22.68 5.5 20.78 9.5 24.74 6.6

 8 ...................................................................... 22.77 8.1 – – 22.87 9.2

 9 ...................................................................... 25.75 1.3 25.46 5.7 25.82 1.0

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 22.97 3.0 19.20 6.1 24.87 2.5

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.02 2.2 25.15 4.8 25.00 2.5

 7 ...................................................................... 24.44 6.4 – – 25.92 7.7

 8 ...................................................................... 25.71 6.4 – – 26.34 6.9

 9 ...................................................................... 25.94 .8 – – 25.96 .8

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... – –––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... – –––––

Health related ........................................................... 26.30 4.6 26.45 5.6 – –

Registered nurses ................................................ 25.17 3.6 ––––

Teachers, college and university .............................. – –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 26.16 1.9 – – 26.17 1.9

 7 ...................................................................... 29.87 .9 – – 29.87 .9

 8 ...................................................................... 28.23 2.5 – – 28.23 2.5

 9 ...................................................................... 25.98 .7 – – 25.98 .7

Elementary school teachers ................................. 26.97 1.6 – – 26.97 1.6

 8 ...................................................................... 27.24 1.5 – – 27.24 1.5

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.73 .9 – – 26.77 .9

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Social workers ...................................................... 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ – –––––

Technical ...................................................................... 15.32 3.6 15.26 3.7 – –

 5 ...................................................................... 14.66 5.5 14.66 5.5 – –

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 15.31 3.8 15.07 3.6 – –

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 25.22 8.1 22.68 7.6 26.79 10.6

 7 ...................................................................... 19.36 10.1 ––––

 9 ...................................................................... 24.15 10.9 ––––

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 27.29 7.9 22.88 7.6 31.43 7.8

 9 ...................................................................... 25.04 11.0 ––––

Administrators and officials, public administration 26.59 27.5 – – 26.59 27.5

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 26.14 8.9 ––––

Management related ................................................. 18.19 8.9 – – 18.33 9.2

Sales ................................................................................ 10.47 11.3 10.47 11.3 – –

 4 ...................................................................... 9.56 4.1 9.56 4.1 – –

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 8.91 10.8 8.91 10.8 – –

Cashiers ............................................................... 8.26 8.0 8.26 8.0 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 10.60 10.4 11.33 20.7 10.00 3.8

 2 ...................................................................... 9.11 5.1 – – 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.03 4.2 8.14 2.4 10.18 6.3

See footnotes at end of table.

12
Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and

local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Administrative support, including clerical –Continued

 4 ...................................................................... $9.91 3.6 $10.10 5.8 $9.77 4.1

Secretaries ........................................................... 11.39 8.1 – – 11.47 8.3

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 8.28 2.4 ––––

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 8.80 4.0 ––––

General office clerks ............................................. 9.64 4.4 – – 9.72 5.0

 3 ...................................................................... 9.60 6.4 ––––

 4 ...................................................................... 9.86 8.2 ––––

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.91 1.7 – – 8.91 1.7

Blue collar ........................................................................... 9.72 5.0 9.37 5.5 11.33 8.0

 1 ...................................................................... 5.95 3.4 5.83 2.9 7.97 1.0

 2 ...................................................................... 7.79 5.0 7.37 5.4 9.08 4.6

 3 ...................................................................... 8.55 2.5 8.61 3.1 8.35 1.2

 4 ...................................................................... 11.20 8.9 11.38 10.5 – –

 5 ...................................................................... 11.95 5.5 11.88 5.8 – –

 6 ...................................................................... 14.63 7.2 ––––

 7 ...................................................................... 17.44 10.8 19.30 10.8 – –

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 14.40 8.5 14.13 12.8 14.97 4.9

 7 ...................................................................... 17.46 11.2 19.47 11.1 – –

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 9.63 9.3 – – 9.63 9.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 8.33 4.7 8.33 4.7 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 6.42 4.2 6.42 4.2 – –

 3 ...................................................................... 8.89 4.2 8.89 4.2 – –

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 8.86 6.4 8.86 6.4 – –

Transportation and material moving ............................ 11.15 9.1 12.00 10.8 9.26 4.5

 2 ...................................................................... 7.49 9.5 ––––

 4 ...................................................................... 12.51 9.2 ––––

Truck drivers ......................................................... 11.97 13.7 12.07 13.9 – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 6.95 4.9 6.72 5.3 8.53 3.9

 1 ...................................................................... 5.76 4.0 5.57 2.7 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 7.88 4.7 7.76 5.8 – –

 3 ...................................................................... 8.05 2.5 7.98 3.2 – –

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.68 1.9 ––––

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.77 4.2 5.77 4.2 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 5.58 2.6 5.58 2.6 – –

Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. ......... 9.36 5.9 9.36 5.9 – –

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 7.36 15.4 – – 8.32 4.3

Service ................................................................................. 7.53 4.9 5.88 5.5 10.31 5.6

 1 ...................................................................... 6.80 2.7 6.21 2.4 7.76 2.9

 2 ...................................................................... 6.11 11.7 5.47 12.6 – –

 3 ...................................................................... 8.45 12.7 5.44 18.1 10.49 11.3

 4 ...................................................................... 9.18 13.5 – – 13.51 15.1

Protective service ..................................................... 10.87 16.6 – – 13.11 8.1

Police and detectives, public service .................... 15.58 8.9 – – 15.58 8.9

Food service ............................................................. 6.49 12.7 4.86 16.0 9.13 7.4

 1 ...................................................................... 7.27 5.8 6.53 14.0 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 4.44 29.2 ––––

 3 ...................................................................... 5.50 26.9 ––––

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... 3.12 16.8 3.12 16.8 – –

Other food service .................................................. 8.24 6.5 7.01 6.1 9.13 7.4

 1 ...................................................................... 8.05 4.2 ––––

 2 ...................................................................... 8.17 3.5 ––––

Cooks ................................................................... 7.72 4.1 7.45 4.7 – –

Food counter, fountain, and related ...................... 7.34 10.1 7.34 10.1 – –

Health service ........................................................... 10.17 9.1 7.73 4.3 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 9.32 9.9 8.09 4.8 – –

Health aides, except nursing ................................ 10.91 15.2 ––––

See footnotes at end of table.

13
Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and

local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Service –Continued

Health service –Continued

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... $9.55 12.8 $7.04 3.0 – –

Cleaning and building service ................................... 7.20 3.5 6.22 3.6 $7.82 2.9

 1 ...................................................................... 6.93 4.3 – – 7.44 2.4

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 7.55 2.7 6.67 3.4 7.82 2.9

 1 ...................................................................... 7.33 2.7 6.60 5.8 7.44 2.4

Personal service ....................................................... 6.11 1.5 5.99 1.1 – –

Welfare service aides ........................................... 6.07 1.6 5.96 1.2 – –

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is

used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more

information. 2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is

evaluated based on 10 factors, including knowledge, complexity, work

environment, etc. Points are assigned based on the occupation’s rank within

each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the

occupation. See appendixes C and D for more information. 3 All workers include full-time and part-time workers. 4 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to

employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay

of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. 5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval"

around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix

A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

14
Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and

State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $14.31 4.0 $11.91 5.6 $17.07 5.2

All excluding sales ............................................................ 14.48 4.2 11.92 6.3 17.07 5.2

White collar ......................................................................... 18.31 4.4 15.49 6.8 20.59 5.3

 1 ...................................................................... 8.51 8.5 8.44 10.7 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 9.19 4.9 8.22 6.4 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.32 4.2 8.76 6.2 10.18 6.3

 4 ...................................................................... 10.52 4.6 10.88 6.3 9.85 4.0

 5 ...................................................................... 13.55 5.8 14.63 4.9 – –

 6 ...................................................................... 18.66 9.3 14.32 5.5 21.93 9.2

 7 ...................................................................... 22.67 5.6 20.68 10.0 24.74 6.6

 8 ...................................................................... 22.49 8.1 – – 22.87 9.2

 9 ...................................................................... 25.73 1.3 25.35 5.8 25.82 1.0

11 ...................................................................... 30.75 6.3 ––––

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 19.19 4.3 16.82 7.0 20.59 5.3

 2 ...................................................................... 9.11 4.9 – – 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.25 4.2 8.25 2.8 10.18 6.3

 4 ...................................................................... 10.90 5.8 11.98 7.9 9.85 4.0

 5 ...................................................................... 13.56 6.0 14.71 5.1 – –

 6 ...................................................................... 19.64 9.6 14.99 8.1 21.93 9.2

 7 ...................................................................... 22.67 5.6 20.68 10.0 24.74 6.6

 8 ...................................................................... 22.77 8.1 – – 22.87 9.2

 9 ...................................................................... 25.73 1.3 25.35 5.8 25.82 1.0

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 23.26 2.9 19.10 6.2 25.37 2.1

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.46 1.9 25.18 4.9 25.51 2.1

 7 ...................................................................... 24.51 6.7 – – 25.92 7.7

 8 ...................................................................... 25.71 6.4 – – 26.34 6.9

 9 ...................................................................... 25.92 .8 – – 25.96 .8

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... – –––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... – –––––

Health related ........................................................... 26.39 4.7 26.57 5.8 – –

Registered nurses ................................................ 25.32 3.8 25.18 4.3 – –

Teachers, college and university .............................. – –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 26.86 1.1 – – 26.88 1.1

 7 ...................................................................... 29.87 .9 – – 29.87 .9

 8 ...................................................................... 28.23 2.5 – – 28.23 2.5

 9 ...................................................................... 25.98 .7 – – 25.98 .7

Elementary school teachers ................................. 26.97 1.6 – – 26.97 1.6

 8 ...................................................................... 27.24 1.5 – – 27.24 1.5

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.73 .9 – – 26.77 .9

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Social workers ...................................................... 14.53 5.1 – – 14.40 5.5

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ – –––––

Technical ...................................................................... 15.32 3.6 15.26 3.7 – –

 5 ...................................................................... 14.66 5.5 14.66 5.5 – –

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 15.31 3.8 15.07 3.6 – –

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 25.22 8.1 22.68 7.6 26.79 10.6

 7 ...................................................................... 19.36 10.1 ––––

 9 ...................................................................... 24.15 10.9 ––––

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 27.29 7.9 22.88 7.6 31.43 7.8

 9 ...................................................................... 25.04 11.0 ––––

Administrators and officials, public administration 26.59 27.5 – – 26.59 27.5

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 26.14 8.9 ––––

Management related ................................................. 18.19 8.9 – – 18.33 9.2

Sales ................................................................................ 11.87 13.4 11.87 13.4 – –

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 9.09 12.1 9.09 12.1 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 10.78 10.7 11.89 21.8 10.00 3.8

 2 ...................................................................... 9.11 5.1 – – 9.54 5.3

 3 ...................................................................... 9.28 4.2 8.27 2.8 10.18 6.3

 4 ...................................................................... 9.94 3.6 10.19 5.7 9.77 4.1

See footnotes at end of table.

15
Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and

State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 —

Continued

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Administrative support, including clerical –Continued

Secretaries ........................................................... $11.39 8.1 – – $11.47 8.3

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 8.28 2.4 ––––

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 8.84 3.9 ––––

General office clerks ............................................. 9.66 4.4 – – 9.72 5.0

 3 ...................................................................... 9.63 6.3 ––––

 4 ...................................................................... 9.86 8.2 ––––

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.91 1.7 – – 8.91 1.7

Blue collar ........................................................................... 10.11 5.1 $9.80 5.7 11.39 8.2

 1 ...................................................................... 6.09 3.7 5.95 3.3 7.97 1.0

 2 ...................................................................... 7.85 5.3 7.41 5.9 9.08 4.6

 3 ...................................................................... 8.56 2.5 8.61 3.1 8.35 1.2

 4 ...................................................................... 11.63 9.5 11.75 10.6 – –

 5 ...................................................................... 11.95 5.5 11.88 5.8 – –

 6 ...................................................................... 14.63 7.2 ––––

 7 ...................................................................... 17.44 10.8 19.30 10.8 – –

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 14.40 8.5 14.13 12.8 14.97 4.9

 7 ...................................................................... 17.46 11.2 19.47 11.1 – –

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 9.63 9.3 – – 9.63 9.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 8.56 4.7 8.56 4.7 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 6.71 4.7 6.71 4.7 – –

 3 ...................................................................... 8.89 4.2 8.89 4.2 – –

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 8.86 6.4 8.86 6.4 – –

Transportation and material moving ............................ 11.22 9.5 12.07 11.1 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 7.49 9.5 ––––

Truck drivers ......................................................... 11.95 14.0 ––––

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 7.04 5.0 6.73 5.3 8.53 3.9

 1 ...................................................................... 5.86 4.6 5.63 3.1 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 8.07 4.2 ––––

 3 ...................................................................... 8.07 2.5 8.00 3.2 – –

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.68 1.9 ––––

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 6.01 6.2 6.01 6.2 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 5.74 3.8 5.74 3.8 – –

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 7.02 14.4 – – 8.32 4.3

Service ................................................................................. 8.83 4.8 6.74 5.6 10.31 5.6

 1 ...................................................................... 7.63 3.1 7.13 9.9 7.76 2.9

 2 ...................................................................... 7.81 7.5 7.02 7.4 – –

 3 ...................................................................... 8.69 13.6 – – 10.49 11.3

 4 ...................................................................... 9.18 13.5 – – 13.51 15.1

Protective service ..................................................... 11.33 14.2 – – 13.11 8.1

Police and detectives, public service .................... 15.58 8.9 – – 15.58 8.9

Food service ............................................................. 7.94 7.9 6.50 10.7 9.13 7.4

 1 ...................................................................... 7.85 4.8 ––––

 2 ...................................................................... 8.34 2.8 ––––

Other food service .................................................. 8.57 6.2 7.51 6.7 9.13 7.4

 2 ...................................................................... 8.34 2.8 ––––

Cooks ................................................................... 7.72 4.1 7.45 4.7 – –

Health service ........................................................... 10.28 9.8 7.75 4.8 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 9.31 10.1 ––––

Health aides, except nursing ................................ 11.12 16.3 ––––

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 9.59 13.0 ––––

Cleaning and building service ................................... 7.49 2.9 6.55 3.4 7.82 2.9

 1 ...................................................................... 7.25 3.1 – – 7.44 2.4

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 7.62 2.7 6.82 1.9 7.82 2.9

 1 ...................................................................... 7.36 2.6 – – 7.44 2.4

See footnotes at end of table.

16
Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and

State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 —

Continued

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Service –Continued

Personal service ....................................................... $6.94 4.3 ––––

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is

used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more

information. 2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is

evaluated based on 10 factors, including knowledge, complexity, work

environment, etc. Points are assigned based on the occupation’s rank within

each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the

occupation. See appendixes C and D for more information. 3 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a

worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time

employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm,

where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

4 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to

employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay

of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. 5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval"

around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix

A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

17
Table 4-3. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 part-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and

State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation and level

Total Private industry State and local

 government

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

All ............................................................................................. $6.26 6.4 $6.17 6.7 – –

All excluding sales ............................................................ 6.04 7.0 5.92 7.3 – –

White collar ......................................................................... 8.16 7.2 8.13 8.0 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 6.87 10.0 6.87 10.0 – –

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 9.44 15.8 ––––

Professional specialty and technical ............................ – –––––

Professional specialty ................................................... – –––––

Health related ........................................................... – –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. – –––––

Sales ................................................................................ 7.43 7.1 7.43 7.1 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 6.87 10.0 6.87 10.0 – –

Cashiers ............................................................... 6.59 7.0 6.59 7.0 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 6.70 9.5 6.70 9.5 – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................... – –––––

Blue collar ........................................................................... 6.79 6.6 6.64 6.9 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 5.42 1.2 5.42 1.2 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 7.08 8.7 7.08 8.7 – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ – –––––

Transportation and material moving ............................ – –––––

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 6.68 7.6 6.68 7.6 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 5.40 1.7 5.40 1.7 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 7.08 8.7 7.08 8.7 – –

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.48 1.8 5.48 1.8 – –

 1 ...................................................................... 5.39 1.8 5.39 1.8 – –

Service ................................................................................. 5.26 8.1 5.26 8.1 – –

 2 ...................................................................... 3.88 16.9 3.88 16.9 – –

Protective service ..................................................... – –––––

Food service ............................................................. 3.19 21.2 3.19 21.2 – –

Health service ........................................................... – –––––

Cleaning and building service ................................... – –––––

Personal service ....................................................... 5.96 1.2 5.96 1.2 – –

Welfare service aides ........................................... 5.96 1.2 5.96 1.2 – –

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is

used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more

information. 2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is

evaluated based on 10 factors, including knowledge, complexity, work

environment, etc. Points are assigned based on the occupation’s rank within

each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the

occupation. See appendixes C and D for more information. 3 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a

worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time

employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm,

where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

4 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to

employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay

of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. 5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval"

around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix

A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall

occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. 

18
Table 5-1. Selected worker characteristics: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 National

Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupational group

Private industry and State and local government

Full-time

workers3

Part-time

workers3 Union4 Nonunion4 Time5 Incentive5

Mean

All occupations ....................................................................... $14.31 $6.26 $21.97 $12.72 $13.01 $13.05

All excluding sales ........................................................ 14.48 6.04 21.97 12.92 13.20 13.78

White collar ......................................................................... 18.31 8.16 – 17.19 17.59 14.40

White-collar excluding sales ......................................... 19.19 9.44 – 18.55 18.80 –

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 23.26 – – 22.84 22.97 –

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.46 – – 24.96 25.02 –

Technical ...................................................................... 15.32 – – 15.32 15.32 –

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 25.22 – – 25.22 25.49 –

Sales ................................................................................. 11.87 7.43 – 10.47 10.53 10.00

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 10.78 – – 9.46 10.60 –

Blue collar ........................................................................... 10.11 6.79 17.10 9.34 9.28 12.48

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 14.40 – – 13.28 14.40 –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 8.56 – – 8.26 7.96 –

Transportation and material moving ................................. 11.22 – – 11.12 8.81 –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 7.04 6.68 – 6.95 6.94 –

Service ................................................................................. 8.83 5.26 – 7.53 7.53 –

Relative error6 (percent)

All occupations ....................................................................... 4.0 6.4 9.6 3.8 4.1 9.1

All excluding sales ........................................................ 4.2 7.0 9.6 4.1 4.3 9.7

White collar ......................................................................... 4.4 7.2 – 4.9 4.9 22.3

White-collar excluding sales ......................................... 4.3 15.8 – 4.6 4.5 –

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 2.9 – – 3.1 3.0 –

Professional specialty ................................................... 1.9 – – 2.3 2.2 –

Technical ...................................................................... 3.6 – – 3.6 3.6 –

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 8.1 – – 8.1 8.6 –

Sales ................................................................................. 13.4 7.1 – 11.3 12.7 6.7

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 10.7 – – 3.0 10.4 –

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.1 6.6 22.4 5.4 6.7 6.8

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 8.5 – – 5.4 8.5 –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 4.7 – – 4.8 5.2 –

Transportation and material moving ................................. 9.5 – – 9.9 8.0 –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 5.0 7.6 – 4.9 5.0 –

Service ................................................................................. 4.8 8.1 – 4.9 4.9 –

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to

employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay

of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is

used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more

information. 3 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a

worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time

employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm,

where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

4 Union workers are those whose wages are determined through

collective bargaining. 5 Time workers’ wages are based solely on an hourly rate or salary;

incentive workers are those whose wages are at least partially based on

productivity payments such as piece rates, commissions, and production

bonuses. 6 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a

percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval"

around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix

A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria. 

19
Table 5-2. Major industry division: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 private industry, National Compensation

Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupational group

Full-time and part-time workers

All private

industries

Goods-producing industries3 Service-producing industries4

Total Mining

ConstructionManufacturing

Total

Transportation and

public utilities

Wholesale

and retail

trade

Finance,

insurance,

and real

estate

Services

Mean

All occupations ............................................................. $10.43 $11.31 – – $11.43 $10.15 $19.54 – – $10.41

All excluding sales .............................................. 10.43 10.70 – – 10.72 10.33 19.54 – – 10.44

White collar ............................................................... 14.39 19.65 – – 19.65 13.64 – – – 15.47

White-collar excluding sales ............................... 16.36 17.55 – – 17.55 16.13 – – – 15.70

Professional specialty and technical ....................... 19.20 – – – – 19.25 – – – 18.89

Professional specialty ......................................... 25.15 – – – – 25.60 – – – 24.92

Technical ............................................................ 15.26 – – – – 15.38 – – – 15.38

Executive, administrative, and managerial ............. 22.68 – – – – 18.94 – – – –

Sales ....................................................................... 10.47 – – – – 9.27 – – – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................ 11.33 10.49 – – 10.49 11.54 – – – 8.13

Blue collar ................................................................. 9.37 9.17 – – 8.89 9.63 – – – 8.38

Precision production, craft, and repair .................... 14.13 12.32 – – 12.54 – – – – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .... 8.33 8.35 – – 8.35 – – – – –

Transportation and material moving ....................... 12.00 – – – – 12.06 – – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and

laborers ............................................................. 6.72 6.56 – – – 6.78 – – – –

Service ....................................................................... 5.88 – – – – 5.88 – – – 6.30

Relative error5 (percent)

All occupations ............................................................. 4.9 7.0 – – 8.0 6.1 20.9 – – 6.5

All excluding sales .............................................. 5.7 7.2 – – 8.4 7.4 20.9 – – 6.5

White collar ............................................................... 6.9 14.0 – – 14.0 7.3 – – – 8.5

White-collar excluding sales ............................... 7.4 12.2 – – 12.2 8.5 – – – 8.0

Professional specialty and technical ....................... 6.1 – – – – 6.4 – – – 6.3

Professional specialty ......................................... 4.8 – – – – 5.3 – – – 4.7

Technical ............................................................ 3.7 – – – – 3.7 – – – 3.7

Executive, administrative, and managerial ............. 7.6 – – – – 8.7 – – – –

Sales ....................................................................... 11.3 – – – – 4.4 – – – –

Administrative support, including clerical ................ 20.7 5.3 – – 5.3 25.2 – – – 2.4

Blue collar ................................................................. 5.5 4.2 – – 5.1 11.3 – – – 7.2

Precision production, craft, and repair .................... 12.8 7.4 – – 12.9 – – – – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .... 4.7 4.8 – – 4.8 – – – – –

Transportation and material moving ....................... 10.8 –––– 12.6 – – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and

laborers ............................................................. 5.3 4.3 – – – 7.5 – – – –

Service ....................................................................... 5.5 – – – – 5.5 – – – 2.9

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium

pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is

computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers,

weighted by hours. 2 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover

all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information. 3 Goods-producing industries include mining, construction, and manufacturing.

4 Service-producing industries include transportation and public utilities; wholesale

and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and services. 5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of

the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample

estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication

criteria. 

20
Table 5-3. Establishment employment size: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 private

industry, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupational group

Full-time and part-time workers

All private

industry

workers

50 - 99

workers3

100 workers or more

Total 100 - 499

workers

500

workers or

more

Mean

All occupations ....................................................................... $10.43 $9.83 $10.73 $10.17 $11.62

All excluding sales ........................................................ 10.43 10.13 10.56 9.74 11.62

White collar ......................................................................... 14.39 12.90 15.07 14.12 16.45

White-collar excluding sales ......................................... 16.36 16.87 16.19 15.85 16.45

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 19.20 – 19.38 20.43 19.08

Professional specialty ................................................... 25.15 – 25.64 31.07 24.34

Technical ...................................................................... 15.26 – 15.13 14.84 15.23

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 22.68 – 22.20 22.20 –

Sales ................................................................................. 10.47 8.39 12.10 12.10 –

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 11.33 15.10 8.65 9.08 –

Blue collar ........................................................................... 9.37 9.91 9.02 8.49 10.56

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 14.13 – 12.29 – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 8.33 – 8.15 7.50 –

Transportation and material moving ................................. 12.00 10.36 – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 6.72 6.76 6.68 6.49 –

Service ................................................................................. 5.88 4.50 6.42 6.19 –

Relative error4 (percent)

All occupations ....................................................................... 4.9 13.7 4.8 6.0 8.1

All excluding sales ........................................................ 5.7 16.2 5.2 6.9 8.1

White collar ......................................................................... 6.9 15.0 7.9 10.6 10.6

White-collar excluding sales ......................................... 7.4 16.3 8.0 12.0 10.6

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 6.1 – 6.5 12.8 7.5

Professional specialty ................................................... 4.8 – 4.7 15.2 1.8

Technical ...................................................................... 3.7 – 4.0 6.9 4.8

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 7.6 – 12.0 12.0 –

Sales ................................................................................. 11.3 2.3 16.2 16.2 –

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 20.7 28.1 4.3 6.7 –

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.5 14.5 7.4 10.7 6.7

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 12.8 – 12.2 – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 4.7 – 4.5 5.2 –

Transportation and material moving ................................. 10.8 20.1 – – –

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 5.3 9.6 4.3 4.7 –

Service ................................................................................. 5.5 16.5 3.6 5.8 –

1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to

employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments,

and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations,

holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed

by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of

workers, weighted by hours. 2 A classification system including about 480 individual

occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See

appendix B for more information. 3 Establishments classified with 50-99 workers may contain

establishments with fewer than 50 due to staff reductions between

survey sampling and collection. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error

expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a

"confidence interval" around a sample estimate. For more information

about RSEs, see appendix A.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did

not meet publication criteria. 

21
Table 6-1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, all

industries, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3 10 25 Median

50 75 90

All ............................................................................................. $5.70 $7.25 $9.27 $16.93 $26.33

All excluding sales ............................................................ 5.65 7.25 9.27 17.58 26.33

White collar ......................................................................... 7.81 9.10 14.60 25.33 29.03

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 8.34 9.53 17.37 26.33 30.02

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 13.84 16.93 25.32 26.43 29.03

Professional specialty ................................................... 15.96 25.09 26.33 26.97 30.34

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... –––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... –––––

Health related ........................................................... 22.27 23.62 24.26 27.18 34.75

Registered nurses ................................................ 22.27 23.00 24.76 27.18 27.18

Teachers, college and university .............................. –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 25.09 25.32 26.33 26.97 30.02

Elementary school teachers ................................. 25.32 25.32 26.97 27.49 29.03

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.10 26.33 26.33 26.33 27.57

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Social workers ...................................................... 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ –––––

Technical ...................................................................... 13.04 13.68 14.60 16.93 18.22

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 13.68 13.68 14.19 16.93 18.22

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 13.85 17.31 22.88 33.14 34.43

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 14.43 21.58 32.75 34.33 34.43

Administrators and officials, public administration 13.60 13.60 26.17 41.18 41.18

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 16.25 22.55 26.00 33.65 34.33

Management related ................................................. 12.05 13.85 17.31 22.88 22.88

Sales ................................................................................ 6.30 6.86 9.08 11.02 13.05

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 5.82 5.82 9.25 10.98 12.11

Cashiers ............................................................... 5.40 6.30 7.96 10.39 11.12

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 7.52 8.34 9.00 9.93 19.46

Secretaries ........................................................... 8.95 9.06 9.93 12.46 18.45

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 7.46 8.34 8.34 8.41 8.53

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 7.50 7.81 9.27 9.27 9.27

General office clerks ............................................. 8.12 8.25 9.00 11.04 11.59

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.65 8.65 8.65 9.10 9.87

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.41 6.41 8.14 12.39 15.65

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 7.84 10.61 14.40 17.93 23.60

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 7.64 8.22 8.40 11.51 11.51

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 5.88 6.74 8.24 9.87 10.57

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 6.03 6.74 8.66 9.95 13.03

Transportation and material moving ............................ 6.00 8.44 10.89 14.38 15.65

Truck drivers ......................................................... 6.00 6.41 14.38 14.38 15.65

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 5.15 5.34 7.25 7.66 8.84

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.00 7.55 7.55 8.00 8.19

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.25 5.34 5.49 5.82 7.15

Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. ......... 7.66 7.78 8.84 10.70 11.25

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 5.31 5.31 7.28 9.60 10.14

Service ................................................................................. 5.20 5.71 6.65 8.62 11.43

Protective service ..................................................... 5.20 5.20 9.97 12.96 19.52

Police and detectives, public service .................... 11.85 12.17 15.93 19.52 19.52

Food service ............................................................. 2.13 3.63 6.90 8.45 11.33

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... 2.13 2.13 2.13 3.63 6.17

Other food service .................................................. 5.70 6.90 7.81 10.04 11.33

Cooks ................................................................... 6.60 6.98 7.98 8.45 8.45

Food counter, fountain, and related ...................... 5.48 5.70 6.90 10.15 10.17

Health service ........................................................... 6.61 7.33 8.63 14.83 17.62

Health aides, except nursing ................................ 6.28 8.63 8.63 16.19 17.37

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 6.61 6.65 7.33 14.83 17.62

Cleaning and building service ................................... 5.71 6.38 7.14 7.71 8.62

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 6.38 7.04 7.71 7.95 8.62

See footnotes at end of table.

22
Table 6-1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, all

industries, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3 10 25 Median

50 75 90

Service –Continued

Personal service ....................................................... $5.24 $5.40 $6.26 $6.26 $6.26

Welfare service aides ........................................... 5.24 5.30 6.26 6.26 6.26

1 Percentiles are calculated from average hourly wages for sampled

establishment jobs within each occupation. The percentiles describe the

distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for

its jobs. For example, at the 10th percentile hourly wage for an

occupation, one-tenth of the occupation’s employment are found in

sampled establishment jobs whose average wages are the same or less,

and nine-tenths are in jobs averaging the same or more. The calculations

of the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly

wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. 

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. 2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations

is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for

more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified."

Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown

separately. 

23
Table 6-2. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private

industry, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

Private industry

10 25 Median

50 75 90

All ............................................................................................. $5.25 $6.26 $7.92 $13.04 $19.65

All excluding sales ............................................................ 5.24 6.03 7.81 13.68 22.27

White collar ......................................................................... 7.00 8.34 11.88 18.22 25.13

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 7.52 8.41 14.60 22.55 25.13

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 13.68 14.60 16.93 23.90 25.33

Professional specialty ................................................... 17.77 23.62 24.26 25.33 34.75

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... –––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... –––––

Health related ........................................................... 22.27 23.62 24.26 26.43 34.75

Teachers, except college and university .................. –––––

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. –––––

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ –––––

Technical ...................................................................... 13.04 13.68 14.60 16.93 18.22

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 13.68 13.68 14.19 16.93 17.11

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 14.43 19.13 22.55 26.00 33.65

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 14.43 19.13 22.55 26.00 33.65

Management related ................................................. –––––

Sales ................................................................................ 6.30 6.86 9.08 11.02 13.05

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 5.82 5.82 9.25 10.98 12.11

Cashiers ............................................................... 5.40 6.30 7.96 10.39 11.12

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 7.49 7.71 8.34 10.50 25.13

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.31 5.90 7.78 11.31 15.65

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 5.81 7.84 13.21 19.22 25.13

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 5.88 6.74 8.24 9.87 10.57

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 6.03 6.74 8.66 9.95 13.03

Transportation and material moving ............................ 6.00 7.33 14.38 14.38 15.65

Truck drivers ......................................................... 6.00 6.41 14.38 14.38 15.65

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 5.15 5.31 6.37 7.55 8.21

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.25 5.34 5.49 5.82 7.15

Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. ......... 7.66 7.78 8.84 10.70 11.25

Service ................................................................................. 2.13 5.24 6.26 6.45 8.00

Protective service ..................................................... –––––

Food service ............................................................. 2.13 2.13 5.50 6.60 7.98

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... 2.13 2.13 2.13 3.63 6.17

Other food service .................................................. 5.48 5.70 6.60 7.98 10.15

Cooks ................................................................... 6.60 6.60 7.63 7.98 7.98

Food counter, fountain, and related ...................... 5.48 5.70 6.90 10.15 10.17

Health service ........................................................... 6.61 6.65 8.00 8.63 8.63

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 6.61 6.61 6.65 7.55 8.00

Cleaning and building service ................................... 5.30 5.71 5.99 6.92 7.14

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 5.30 6.45 6.73 7.14 7.14

Personal service ....................................................... 5.24 5.30 6.26 6.26 6.26

Welfare service aides ........................................... 5.24 5.24 6.26 6.26 6.26

1 Percentiles are calculated from average hourly wages for sampled

establishment jobs within each occupation. The percentiles describe the

distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for

its jobs. For example, at the 10th percentile hourly wage for an

occupation, one-tenth of the occupation’s employment are found in

sampled establishment jobs whose average wages are the same or less,

and nine-tenths are in jobs averaging the same or more. The calculations

of the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly

wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. 

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. 2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations

is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for

more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified."

Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown

separately. 

24
Table 6-3. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, State and

local government, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3

State and local

 government

10 25 Median

50 75 90

All ............................................................................................. $8.02 $8.89 $13.60 $26.33 $29.03

All excluding sales ............................................................ 8.02 8.89 13.60 26.33 29.03

White collar ......................................................................... 8.65 9.93 25.09 26.88 30.85

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 8.65 9.93 25.09 26.88 30.85

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 14.84 25.09 26.33 27.12 30.34

Professional specialty ................................................... 14.84 25.13 26.33 27.18 30.34

Health related ........................................................... –––––

Teachers, college and university .............................. –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 25.09 25.32 26.33 26.97 30.02

Elementary school teachers ................................. 25.32 25.32 26.97 27.49 29.03

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.10 26.33 26.33 26.33 27.57

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Social workers ...................................................... 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Technical ...................................................................... –––––

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 13.60 17.31 32.75 34.43 34.43

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 13.60 33.14 33.14 34.43 41.18

Administrators and officials, public administration 13.60 13.60 26.17 41.18 41.18

Management related ................................................. 12.05 13.85 17.31 22.88 22.88

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 8.65 8.65 9.27 9.93 12.31

Secretaries ........................................................... 8.95 9.06 9.93 12.46 18.45

General office clerks ............................................. 8.12 8.86 9.52 11.04 11.59

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.65 8.65 8.65 9.10 9.87

Blue collar ........................................................................... 8.10 8.44 9.92 14.40 15.86

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 11.51 14.40 14.40 15.86 17.93

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 7.64 8.22 8.40 11.51 11.51

Transportation and material moving ............................ 8.44 8.44 9.24 9.92 10.89

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 7.41 8.06 8.10 8.38 10.14

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 7.55 8.11 8.11 8.11 10.14

Service ................................................................................. 7.11 7.71 8.62 11.43 17.37

Protective service ..................................................... 9.14 9.97 11.85 15.93 19.52

Police and detectives, public service .................... 11.85 12.17 15.93 19.52 19.52

Food service ............................................................. 7.11 7.81 8.61 11.33 11.33

Other food service .................................................. 7.11 7.81 8.61 11.33 11.33

Health service ........................................................... –––––

Cleaning and building service ................................... 7.04 7.54 7.71 8.54 8.62

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 7.04 7.54 7.71 8.54 8.62

Personal service ....................................................... –––––

1 Percentiles are calculated from average hourly wages for sampled

establishment jobs within each occupation. The percentiles describe the

distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for

its jobs. For example, at the 10th percentile hourly wage for an

occupation, one-tenth of the occupation’s employment are found in

sampled establishment jobs whose average wages are the same or less,

and nine-tenths are in jobs averaging the same or more. The calculations

of the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly

wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. 

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. 2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations

is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for

more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified."

Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown

separately. 

25
Table 6-4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all

industries, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3 10 25 Median

50 75 90

All ............................................................................................. $6.50 $8.00 $10.83 $19.52 $26.33

All excluding sales ............................................................ 6.45 7.98 10.83 21.58 26.42

White collar ......................................................................... 8.34 9.83 16.73 26.10 29.03

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 8.65 9.87 19.13 26.33 30.24

Professional specialty and technical ............................ 13.84 17.11 25.32 26.43 29.03

Professional specialty ................................................... 17.37 25.09 26.33 26.97 30.34

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ....................... –––––

Mathematical and computer scientists ..................... –––––

Health related ........................................................... 22.27 23.62 24.26 27.18 34.75

Registered nurses ................................................ 22.27 23.62 24.76 27.18 27.18

Teachers, college and university .............................. –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. 25.09 25.32 26.33 26.97 30.02

Elementary school teachers ................................. 25.32 25.32 26.97 27.49 29.03

Secondary school teachers .................................. 26.10 26.33 26.33 26.33 27.57

Social, recreation, and religious workers .................. 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Social workers ...................................................... 10.72 13.84 14.84 15.96 17.37

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................ –––––

Technical ...................................................................... 13.04 13.68 14.60 16.93 18.22

Licensed practical nurses ..................................... 13.68 13.68 14.19 16.93 18.22

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. 13.85 17.31 22.88 33.14 34.43

Executives, administrators, and managers ............... 14.43 21.58 32.75 34.33 34.43

Administrators and officials, public administration 13.60 13.60 26.17 41.18 41.18

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. .................... 16.25 22.55 26.00 33.65 34.33

Management related ................................................. 12.05 13.85 17.31 22.88 22.88

Sales ................................................................................ 6.80 8.71 10.91 12.11 13.05

Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 5.82 5.82 10.62 11.52 12.11

Administrative support, including clerical ................... 7.52 8.34 9.10 10.16 19.46

Secretaries ........................................................... 8.95 9.06 9.93 12.46 18.45

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................... 7.46 8.34 8.34 8.41 8.53

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ...... 7.50 7.81 9.27 9.27 9.27

General office clerks ............................................. 8.12 8.25 9.00 11.04 11.59

Teachers’ aides .................................................... 8.65 8.65 8.65 9.10 9.87

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.41 7.03 8.40 13.21 16.13

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................ 7.84 10.61 14.40 17.93 23.60

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ......... 7.64 8.22 8.40 11.51 11.51

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ 5.90 7.03 8.33 9.87 10.57

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. ............. 6.03 6.74 8.66 9.95 13.03

Transportation and material moving ............................ 6.00 8.44 10.89 14.38 15.65

Truck drivers ......................................................... 6.00 6.41 14.38 14.38 15.65

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 5.15 5.41 7.25 8.06 8.84

Helpers, construction trades ................................. 7.00 7.55 7.55 8.00 8.19

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.41 5.41 5.81 6.13 7.25

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. .................... 5.31 5.31 5.31 8.11 10.14

Service ................................................................................. 5.70 6.90 7.81 9.97 12.96

Protective service ..................................................... 5.20 9.14 10.82 12.96 19.52

Police and detectives, public service .................... 11.85 12.17 15.93 19.52 19.52

Food service ............................................................. 5.50 6.90 7.81 10.04 11.33

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... –––––

Other food service .................................................. 6.60 7.11 7.98 10.15 11.33

Cooks ................................................................... 6.60 6.98 7.98 8.45 8.45

Health service ........................................................... 6.61 7.33 8.63 14.83 17.62

Health aides, except nursing ................................ 7.98 8.63 8.63 16.19 17.37

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............... 6.61 6.65 7.33 14.83 17.62

See footnotes at end of table.

26
Table 6-4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all

industries, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002 — Continued

Occupation3 10 25 Median

50 75 90

Service –Continued

Cleaning and building service ................................... $6.38 $7.04 $7.71 $7.95 $8.62

Janitors and cleaners ........................................... 6.50 7.04 7.71 7.95 8.62

Personal service ....................................................... 5.96 5.96 7.47 7.47 7.47

1 Percentiles are calculated from average hourly wages for sampled

establishment jobs within each occupation. The percentiles describe the

distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for

its jobs. For example, at the 10th percentile hourly wage for an

occupation, one-tenth of the occupation’s employment are found in

sampled establishment jobs whose average wages are the same or less,

and nine-tenths are in jobs averaging the same or more. The calculations

of the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly

wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. 

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore,

a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a

full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in

another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations

is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for

more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified."

Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown

separately. 

27
Table 6-5. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 part-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all

industries, National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupation3 10 25 Median

50 75 90

All ............................................................................................. $3.25 $5.25 $6.26 $6.86 $8.33

All excluding sales ............................................................ 2.13 5.24 6.09 6.26 7.81

White collar ......................................................................... 6.30 6.86 7.81 8.44 9.05

White collar excluding sales ......................................... 7.81 7.81 7.81 8.28 10.06

Professional specialty and technical ............................ –––––

Professional specialty ................................................... –––––

Health related ........................................................... –––––

Teachers, except college and university .................. –––––

Sales ................................................................................ 5.43 6.86 6.86 8.44 9.05

Cashiers ............................................................... 5.40 5.41 6.30 8.25 8.89

Administrative support, including clerical ................... –––––

Blue collar ........................................................................... 5.25 5.45 5.65 7.55 9.60

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........ –––––

Transportation and material moving ............................ –––––

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 5.25 5.25 6.37 7.55 9.59

Stock handlers and baggers ................................. 5.19 5.25 5.34 5.65 6.04

Service ................................................................................. 2.13 5.23 5.71 6.26 6.26

Protective service ..................................................... –––––

Food service ............................................................. 2.13 2.13 2.13 5.48 6.00

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ...................... –––––

Other food service .................................................. –––––

Health service ........................................................... –––––

Cleaning and building service ................................... –––––

Personal service ....................................................... 5.24 5.24 6.26 6.26 6.26

Welfare service aides ........................................... 5.24 5.24 6.26 6.26 6.26

1 Percentiles are calculated from average hourly wages for sampled

establishment jobs within each occupation. The percentiles describe the

distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for

its jobs. For example, at the 10th percentile hourly wage for an

occupation, one-tenth of the occupation’s employment are found in

sampled establishment jobs whose average wages are the same or less,

and nine-tenths are in jobs averaging the same or more. The calculations

of the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly

wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They

include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. 

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays,

nonproduction bonuses, and tips. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore,

a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a

full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in

another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule. 3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations

is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for

more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not

meet publication criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified."

Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown

separately. 

28
A-1

Appendix A: Technical Note

his section provides basic information on the procedures and concepts used to produce the data contained

in this bulletin. It is divided into three parts: Planning for

the survey; data collection; and processing and analyzing

the data. Although this section answers some questions

commonly asked by data users, it is not a comprehensive

description of all the steps required to produce the data.

Planning for the survey

The overall design of the survey includes questions of

scope, frame, and sample selection.

Survey scope

This survey covered establishments employing 50 workers

or more in goods-producing industries (mining, construction and manufacturing); service-producing industries

(transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary

services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance,

and real estate; and services industries); and State and local

governments. Agriculture, private households, and the Federal Government were excluded from the scope of the survey. For purposes of this survey, an establishment is an

economic unit that produces goods or services, a central

administrative office, or an auxiliary unit providing support

services to a company. For private industries in this survey, the establishment is usually at a single physical location. For State and local governments, an establishment is

defined as all locations of a government entity.

The Brownsville–Harlingen–San Benito, TX, Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Cameron County.

Sampling frame

The list of establishments from which the survey sample

was selected (sampling frame) was developed from State

unemployment insurance reports. Due to the volatility of

industries within the private sector, sampling frames were

developed using the most recent month of reference available at the time the sample was selected. The sampling

frame was reviewed prior to the survey and, when necessary, missing establishments were added, out-of-business

and out-of-scope establishments were removed, and addresses, employment levels, industry classification, and

other information were updated.

Sample design

The sample for this survey area was selected using a twostage stratified design with probability proportional to employment sampling at each stage. The first stage of sample

selection was a probability sample of establishments. The

sample of establishments was drawn by first stratifying the

sampling frame by industry and ownership. The number of

sample establishments allocated to each stratum is approximately proportional to the stratum employment. Each

sampled establishment is selected within a stratum with a

probability proportional to its employment. Use of this

technique means that the larger an establishment’s employment, the greater its chance of selection. Weights were

applied to each establishment when the data were tabulated

so that it represents similar units (by industry and employment size) in the economy that were not selected for collection. The second stage of sample selection, detailed below,

was a probability sample of occupations within a sampled

establishment.

Data collection

The collection of data from survey respondents required

detailed procedures. Field economists collected the data,

working out of the Regional Office and visiting each establishment surveyed. Other contact methods, such as mail

and telephone, were used to follow-up and update data.

Occupational selection and classification

Identification of the occupations for which wage data were

to be collected was a multistep process:

1. Probability-proportional-to-size selection of establishment jobs

2. Classification of jobs into occupations based on the

Census of Population system

3. Characterization of jobs as full-time v. part-time,

union v. nonunion, and time v. incentive

4. Determination of the level of work of each job

For each occupation, wage data were collected for those

workers who met all the criteria identified in the last three

steps. Special procedures were developed for jobs for

which a correct classification or level could not be determined.

In step one, the jobs to be sampled were selected at each

establishment by the BLS field economist during a personal

visit. A complete list of employees was used for sampling,

with each selected worker representing a job within the establishment.

T
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As with the selection of establishments, the selection of

a job was based on probability proportional to its size in

the establishment. The greater the number of people working in a job in the establishment, the greater its chance of

selection.

The number of jobs for which data were collected in

each establishment was based on the establishment’s employment size, as shown in the following schedule:

Number

of employees

Number

of selected jobs

50–99 8

100–249 10

250–999 12

1,000–2,499 16

2,500+ 20

The second step of the process entailed classifying the

selected jobs into occupations based on their duties. The

National Compensation Survey occupational classification

system is based on the 1990 Census of Population. A selected job may fall into any one of about 480 occupational

classifications, from accountant to wood lathe operator.

For cases in which a job’s duties overlapped two or more

census classification codes, the duties used to set the wage

level were used to classify the job. Classification by primary duties was the fallback.

Each occupational classification is an element of a

broader classification known as a major occupational group

(MOG). Occupations can fall into any of the following

MOGs:

• Professional specialty and technical

• Executive, administrative, and managerial

• Sales

• Administrative support, including clerical

• Precision production, craft, and repair

• Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors

• Transportation and material moving

• Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers

• Service occupations

Appendix B contains a complete list of all individual

occupations, classified by the MOG to which they belong.

In step three, certain other job characteristics of the

chosen worker were identified. First, the worker was identified as holding either a full-time or part-time job, based

on the establishment’s definition of those terms. Then, the

worker was classified as having a time versus incentive job,

depending on whether any part of pay was directly based

on the actual production of the worker, rather than solely

on hours worked. Finally, the worker was identified as being in a union job or a nonunion job. See the “Definition of

terms” section on the following page for more detail.

Occupational leveling

In the last step before wage data were collected, the work

level of each selected job was determined using an “occupational leveling” process. Occupational leveling ranks

and compares all occupations randomly selected in an establishment using the same criteria.

For this survey, the level of each occupation in an establishment was determined by an analysis of each of 10 leveling factors. Nine of these factors are drawn from the U.S.

Government Office of Personnel Management’s Factor

Evaluation System, which is the underlying structure for

evaluation of General Schedule Federal employees. The

tenth factor, supervisory duties, attempts to account for the

effect of supervisory duties. It is considered experimental.

The 10 factors are:

• Knowledge

• Supervision received

• Guidelines

• Complexity

• Scope and effect

• Personal contacts

• Purpose of contacts

• Physical demands

• Work environment

• Supervisory duties

Each factor contains a number of levels, and each level

has an associated written description and point value. The

number and range of points differ among the factors. For

each factor, an occupation was assigned a level based on

the written description that best matched the job. Within

each occupation, the points for nine factors (supervisory

duties was excluded) were recorded and totaled. The total

determines the overall level of the occupation. A description of the levels for each factor is shown in appendix C.

Tabulations of levels of work for occupations in the

survey follow the Federal Government’s white-collar General Schedule. Point ranges for each of the 15 levels are

shown in appendix D. It also includes an example of a job

with its associated leveling factors, and a guide to help data

users evaluate jobs in their firms

Wage data collected in prior surveys using the occupational leveling method were evaluated by BLS researchers

using regression techniques. For each of the major occupational groups, wages were compared to the 10 occupational

leveling factors (and levels within those factors). The

analysis showed that several of the occupational leveling

factors, most notably knowledge and supervision received,

had strong explanatory power for wages. That is, as the

levels within a given factor increased, the wages also increased.

Collection period

Survey data were collected over a 13-month period for 60

metropolitan areas in the NCS program. For 20 small met-
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ropolitan areas, data were collected over a 4-month period.

For each establishment in the survey, the data reflect the establishment’s most recent information at the time of collection. The payroll reference month shown in the tables reflects the average date of this information for all sample

units.

Earnings

Earnings were defined as regular payments from the employer to the employee as compensation for straight-time

hourly work, or for any salaried work performed. The following components were included as part of earnings:

• Incentive pay, including commissions, production

bonuses, and piece rates

• Cost-of-living allowances

• Hazard pay

• Payments of income deferred due to participation

in a salary reduction plan

• Deadhead pay, defined as pay given to transportation workers returning in a vehicle without freight

or passengers

The following forms of payments were not considered

part of straight-time earnings:

• Shift differentials, defined as extra payment for

working a schedule that varies from the norm, such

as night or weekend work

• Premium pay for overtime, holidays, and weekends

• Bonuses not directly tied to production (such as

Christmas and profit-sharing bonuses)

• Uniform and tool allowances

• Free room and board

• Payments made by third parties (for example, bonuses given by manufacturers to department store

salespeople, referral incentives in real estate)

• On-call pay

To calculate earnings for various periods (hourly,

weekly, and annual), data on work schedules also were collected. For hourly workers, scheduled hours worked per

day and per week, exclusive of overtime, were recorded.

Annual weeks worked were determined. Because salaried

workers, exempt from overtime provisions, often work beyond the assigned work schedule, their typical number of

hours actually worked was collected.

Definition of terms

Full-time worker. Any employee that the employer considers to be full time.

Incentive worker. Any employee whose earnings are tied,

at least in part, to commissions, piece rates, production bonuses, or other incentives based on production or sales.

Level. A ranking of an occupation based on the requirements of the position. (See the description in the technical

note on occupational leveling through point factor analysis

for more details on the leveling process.)

Nonunion worker. An employee in an occupation not

meeting the conditions for union coverage. (See below.)

Part-time worker. Any employee that the employer considers to be part time.

Time-based worker. Any employee whose earnings are

tied to an hourly rate or salary, and not to a specific level of

production.

Union worker. Any employee is in a union occupation

when all of the following conditions are met:

• A labor organization is recognized as the bargaining agent for all workers in the occupation

• Wage and salary rates are determined through

collective bargaining or negotiations

• Settlement terms, which must include earnings provisions and may include benefit provisions, are embodied in a signed, mutually binding collective

bargaining agreement

Processing and analyzing the data

Data were processed and analyzed at the Bureau’s National

Office following collection.

Weighting and nonresponse

Sample weights were calculated for each establishment and

occupation in the survey. These weights reflected the relative size of the occupation within the establishment and of

the establishment within the sample universe. Weights

were used to aggregate data for the individual establishments or occupations into the various data series. Some of

the establishments surveyed could not supply or refused to

supply information. If data were not provided by a sample

member, the weights of responding sample members in the

same or similar “cells” were adjusted to account for the

missing data. This technique assumes that the mean value

of data for the nonrespondents equals the mean value of

data for the respondents at some detailed “cell” level. Responding and nonresponding establishments were classified

into these cells according to industry and employment size.

Responding and nonresponding occupations within responding establishments were classified into cells that were

additionally defined by major occupation group and job

level.

Establishments that were determined to be out of business or outside the scope of the survey had their weights

changed to zero. If only partial data were given by a sam-
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ple establishment or occupation, or data were missing, the

response was treated as a refusal.

Survey response

Establishments

Total in sampling frame 260

Total in sample 129

Responding 91

Out of business or not in survey scope 17

Unable or refused to provide data 21

In this survey, the nonresponse rates for all industries,

private industry, and State and local government were

within regular survey standards.

Estimation

The wage series in the tables are computed by combining

the wages for each sampled occupation. Before being

combined, individual wage rates are weighted by: the number of workers; the sample weight, adjusted for nonresponding establishments and other factors; and the occupation’s scheduled hours of work.

Not all calculated series met the criteria for publication.

Before any series was published, it was reviewed to make

sure that the number of observations underlying it was sufficient. This review prevented the publication of a series

that could have revealed information about a specific establishment.

Estimates of the number of workers represent the total

in all establishments within the scope of the study, and not

the number actually surveyed. Because occupational structures among establishments differ, estimates of the number

of workers obtained from the sample of establishments

serve to indicate only the relative importance of the occupational groups studied.

Percentiles

The percentiles presented in tables 6–1 through 6–5 are

computed using average hourly wages for sampled establishment jobs within each occupation. During this phase of

the ongoing NCS development, establishments in the survey may report either individual-worker earnings or average wage rates for each sampled job. If individual-worker

earnings are provided, an average hourly wage rate is computed for the job and used in the calculation of percentile

estimates. The average hourly wages for each sampled job

are appropriately weighted and then arrayed from lowest to

highest.

The published 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles describe the distribution of an occupation’s employment by the average wage rates for its jobs. For example,

at the 10th percentile, 10 percent of a published occupation’s employment is in sampled establishment jobs that

had average hourly wages at the 10th percentile or less for

that occupation.

Note that the percentiles in earlier NCS bulletins for this

area (in the 3090 and 3095 bulletin series) were calculated

from individual-worker earnings rather than from average

wages for sampled establishment jobs. Research has shown

that using average-wage data for jobs instead of individualworker data has the effect of moving percentile estimates

toward the median (50th percentile). This effect is greatest

for occupations with a high degree of wage dispersion.

However, medians calculated using the two methods are

nearly identical.

Data reliability

The data in this bulletin are estimates from a scientifically

selected probability sample. There are two types of errors

possible in an estimate based on a sample survey, sampling

and nonsampling.

Sampling errors occur because observations come only

from a sample and not from an entire population. The

sample used for this survey is one of a number of possible

samples of the same size that could have been selected using the sample design. Estimates derived from the different

samples would differ from each other.

A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is called the standard error or sampling error. It indicates the precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the average result of all possible

samples. The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard

error divided by the estimate. RSE data are provided

alongside the earnings data in the bulletin tables.

The standard error can be used to calculate a “confidence interval” around a sample estimate. As an example,

suppose a table shows that mean hourly earnings for all

workers were $12.79, with a relative standard error of 3.6

percent for this estimate. At the 90-percent level, the confidence interval for the estimate is $13.55 to $12.03 (1.645

times 3.6 percent times $12.79 = $0.76, plus or minus

$12.79). If all possible samples were selected to estimate

the population value, the interval from each sample would

include the true population value approximately 90 percent

of the time.

Nonsampling errors also affect survey results. They

can stem from many sources, such as inability to obtain information for some establishments, difficulties with survey

definitions, inability of the respondents to provide correct

information, or mistakes in recording or coding the data obtained. Although they were not specifically measured, the

nonsampling errors were expected to be minimal due to the

extensive training of the field economists who gathered the

survey data by personal visit, computer edits of the data,

and detailed data review.
Appendix table 1. Number of workers1 represented by the survey, by occupational group,2

National Compensation Survey, Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX, July 2002

Occupational group

Full-time and part-time workers

Total Private industry State and local 

government

All occupations ....................................................................... 41,600 24,800 16,800

All excluding sales ........................................................ 38,400 21,600 16,800

White collar ......................................................................... 20,500 9,000 11,500

White-collar excluding sales ......................................... 17,300 5,800 11,500

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 9,300 2,500 6,700

Professional specialty ................................................... 7,700 1,100 6,700

Technical ...................................................................... 1,600 1,500 –

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 2,000 700 1,300

Sales ................................................................................. 3,200 3,200 –

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 6,000 2,600 3,400

Blue collar ........................................................................... 9,500 7,700 1,800

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 1,900 1,300 –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 2,100 2,100 –

Transportation and material moving ................................. 1,800 1,100 800

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 3,600 3,200 400

Service ................................................................................. 11,600 8,100 3,500

1 The number of workers represented by the survey are

rounded to the nearest 100. Estimates of the number of workers

provide a description of size and composition of the labor force

included in the survey. Estimates are not intended, however, for

comparison to other statistical series to measure employment

trends or levels. Both full-time and part-time workers were

included in the survey.

2 A classification system including about 480 individual

occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy.

See appendix B for more information.

 NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data

did not meet publication criteria. 

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